


Tamashi o Daku Hito

by Rikutsu



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Comedy, Community can contribute, Fantasy, Multi, Other, Suggestions welcome!, Very serious series is serious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-03-05 19:59:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18835726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikutsu/pseuds/Rikutsu
Summary: The world is full of mysteries. Sakura is one of them, but team seven is just starting to figure out that she isn't the only one and that the supernatural lives much closer to home than they could have ever imagined. Warning for: intense language, adult themes, and heavy violence all in future chapters.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story began when I was a teenager and still plagues me to this day. I want to finish it. I really do, but I keep getting sidetracked or lose the motivation to continue typing. Once again, the urge to write this story out has crept out the basement and pounced. So far, I have the first chapter finished. I plan on going over it a few more times to polish it off. I attempted such a feat with this prologue, but did so at around 2am, so forgive me if I screwed up anywhere or if something doesn't make sense. Please point out any mistakes to me or anything that I can improve! Here goes my fifth attempt at getting this series off the ground! I hope you'll join me in this endeavor to create a fantastical fanfiction!

_Long before humankind appeared in the world, it was inhabited by fantastical creatures. Creatures of nature. Creatures of power. They were called tamashi or "spirits" and there were many different kinds of these spirits. The spirits of nature, the spirits of animals, and of the elements._

_When man initially learned of these beings, the warring between humans and the supernatural seemed to be never ending. Thousands perished on both sides due to man's fear of the unknown and of things out of their control. During the first shinobi war, a power struggle between two distinct groups fell beneath the shadow of the battle between nations. While country fought against country for supremacy, their fight went unnoticed. A tamashi had approached the leaders of the ninja clans, seeking to finally end the nonstop fighting between humans and the supernatural beings. They offered their allegiance and power to the clan that could prove their strength. Only the clan that could pass the trials given to them by the tamashi could claim their supernatural powers for themselves. Those led by greed quickly fell. One after another, the representatives for each clan failed every trial presented to them until the tamashi feared that humans and his kind would never be able to come together. However, to his surprise and delight, a member from one of the clans proved, at last, that all was not lost. With pure intentions and the will for peace amongst all nations and species, the man claimed the power offered by the tamashi. Together, they rivaled the power of the Biju and finally brought an end to the great war._ _Afterwards, the tamashi and humankind learned to live and work together, but only the most honorable of men and women were able to find friends and partners in the tamashi. Things went on in this way for several decades._

_Unfortunately, power tends to bring with it corruption, and in time, such power granted to man began to be abused. The second shinobi war raged over the lands, and this time, the tamashi found themselves fighting against not only their human enemies, but against each other, forced to defend their masters from their own kind. Many tamashi abandoned those they served because of this. Those that stayed were few in number, and when the war had ended, humankind realized the mistake they had made and the power they had lost. Some clans, in an attempt to regain what they had lost, sought out and brought tamashi back with them, trying to force the same bond that their ancestors had forged so long ago. Alas, it could not be done. While the more powerful clans could control a tamashi to some degree, they would never have the same bond and power of a true partnership between the two races. Once again, man and tamashi found themselves in a constant struggle against each other; one for control and the other for freedom._

_The tamashi returned to the wilds, and those that could not escape the greedy grasp of humankind either resigned themselves to their fate or faced the possibility of a fight they would most surely lose on their own. Decades later, ownership of tamashi is a rare thing. A free tamashi living amongst humans even rarer still. As a ninja is a tool to his country, a tamashi is a tool to his master. And what good is a tool that cannot be used?_

* * *

 

Starting today, they were a real team.

Naruto stared at the two others standing on the bridge with him while they waited for their sensei - who was _always_ late - to show up. Today would be their very first day together as an actual team, on what he considered, an actual mission - or so he hoped. They had already met their sensei and passed his dumb bell test. _That_ had sure been fun. And they'd done _tons_ of boring missions. It was time for something more exciting! A real mission! Crossing his arms and looking back and forth between his teammates, Naruto wondered how well they were really going to work together once they finally started their real missions. Would they really be okay? He was pretty sure that he and Sakura would get along just fine. Even if she called him annoying and yelled at him for doing something stupid. She did it because she cared, right? Sasuke, on the other hand was such a know-it-all, stuck up jacka-

**_POOF!_ **

"Yo." the silver-haired jounin finally made his appearance in a cloud of smoke, and both Naruto and Sakura turned to point at their teacher in accusation. Sasuke didn't move, apparently having decided that it wasn't worth the effort to reprimand their eternally tardy teacher.

"You're late!" the blonde and pinkette chorused together.

Kakashi managed to look sheepish, scratching at the back of his head while spouting some nonsense for an excuse. "Sorry, there was this little kitten stuck on the roof of one of the towers, you see and I had to..." he sighed and trailed off, unable to finish his tale as his two loudest students began calling him a liar. Guess they weren't buying his excuses anymore. A sensei could try though, couldn't he? "Alright, alright. Calm down, will you? We have a mission." That got them to shut up, but the quiet didn't last very long. Not that it ever did with Naruto around. As soon as Kakashi revealed the typical D-ranked mission that all genin had to go through, Naruto squawked loudly in protest, which was to be expected, as he had been doing this every single time.

"What kind of ninja do ya take me for?! That's not a mission! We want a real mission!" he cried, waving his arms around in a rather comedic gesture. Neither of his comrades deemed it necessary to point out that blonde had included the both of them in his desire for a higher ranked mission. Had the whole thing not been so frustrating, Kakashi might have laughed. Except it wasn't really funny. In fact, the jounin was about ready to throw his knuckle-headed student right over that guardrail and into the river. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't tempted.

"Naruto. How many times do I have to tell you this? These are standard genin level missions." their sensei sighed and lightly smacked the back of his hand against the scroll he was holding for emphasis. "You're not ready for anything outside of the village yet. All new genin, not just you, must accumulate a certain number of D-ranked missions in order to progress to the higher levels." he began explaining _again_ for what felt like the one hundred thousandth time, but Naruto wasn't even listening. He was borderline throwing a tantrum. Before either he or his teammates could stop him, the blonde proclaimed that he was going to see 'the old man' and rushed off toward the Hokage tower.

"Naruto!" Sakura tried - in vain - to stop him. Too late. He was gone. And while Kakashi appreciated Sakura's attempt to help, he knew that he was going to be the one taking the heat for this. Maybe he would punish Naruto later. Push ups were always a good way to go, according to Gai, anyway. With all that energy, the boy shouldn't have a problem doing over one hundred at the very least. Groaning, Kakashi ran a hand through his hair before waving his two remaining students forward. "Come on. We better follow him." Perhaps if he pleaded nicely enough, Sarutobi would show mercy on him for allowing one of his pupils to run rampant.

Hours later, the team found themselves waiting - yet again - for their sensei to show up. Naruto had gotten what he wanted, much to Kakashi's dismay. A C-ranked escort mission. Nothing too outlandish. It would be simple, really, but it was going to finally get them out of the village. Naruto was literally bouncing around with excitement, and while Sakura was shouting at him to settle down, she herself was actually pretty psyched that they were going to be venturing beyond the village walls into the outside world. She had never been outside of the village. Not as far as she could remember, anyway. There were parts of her childhood that weren't quite that clear. Before she could sink fully into her thoughts, Sakura mentally shook her head. It was time to focus! This would be fun! All they had to do was take their client home, so there wasn't much to worry about except potential bandits, which was the whole reason that he or she had hired ninja as escorts in the first place. Just when Sakura thought that Naruto was about to explode from impatience, Kakashi and their client finally appeared, the latter being introduced as Tazuna, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves. It didn't take long for Naruto to try and pick a fight with the older man, who was obviously drunk. Sakura wrinkled her nose at the smell of booze, which clung to him heavily like an almost tangible cloud.

"Can't believe I 'ave to rely on these brats to protect me." the bridge builder grouched, eying the trio before him with a scowl. What was this ninja village thinking? Sending kids to protect him? Seriously? The loud one was sure to annoy him, but he might offer some entertainment, too. Tazuna watched with hidden amusement as his teacher scolded him, then took a moment to look at the other two. The dark haired kid hadn't said a single word, but the expression of disdain on his face made the bridge builder snort. Must be one of those clan brats, he assumed. The final member of the group caused him to pause, startled and he almost dropped the bottle in his hand. "The hell?" he couldn't help the words that spilled from his lips. Was he hallucinating? Kakashi turned his attention to their client.

"Something wrong?" he wondered. Tazuna didn't reply at first, flabbergasted at what he saw. The girl wasn't human. And it wasn't just her unusual hair color that told him so. A pair of pale pink wolf ears sat atop her head. Behind her, he caught a glimpse of a tail that flickered in and out of sight from behind her legs. She was giving him an irritated look, but before he could decide on what to say, Kakashi spoke up again, prompting the man to fumble for a reply.

"A tamashi!" was all Tazuna could utter at first, bringing one hand up to his head. "Am I seein' things? Or do ya 'ave a tamashi amongst ya?" he glanced down at his drink, wondering if just maybe he'd had a bit too much. He heard the girl heave a sigh and looked back up at her, then down to the bottle, double checking to make sure that he was most certainly not that drunk and that no, he was not seeing things.

"Ah, about that." Kakashi drawled, stepping over to his female student and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura here is a tamashi, yes, and she is also my student and a graduate of Konoha's ninja academy, so there isn't any need to worry."

Naruto nodded vigorously when he caught on to the conversation and said, "Yeah, Sakura-chan isn't dangerous or anything! Right, Sasuke?" The other boy didn't respond verbally, only making a little sound of agreement and watching Tazuna's reaction carefully. While he wasn't exactly fond of either of his teammates yet, they were still his comrades and he didn't like the idea of anyone viewing them as a threat. Especially Sakura. Even with her wolfish features, he could hardly imagine the petite girl as intimidating. A part of him even thought she shouldn't have entered the ninja academy at all. Not that he would ever say such a thing out loud.

"Tha's not wha' I meant." the bridge builder said quickly and frowned, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Sure, some of the stories he'd heard in his youth had painted the tamashi as vicious, dangerous apparitions or yokai, but that's certainly not what he had been thinking when he saw the girl. She was too tiny to pose much of a threat, anyway. Besides, he'd also heard plenty of stories about benevolent tamashi. Good spirits who helped people. He would much rather believe those legends over the tales of evil spirits that tormented, tricked and even sometimes devoured humans. "Sorry. I didn't mean...gosh, 'aven't seen one of 'em in tha' flesh before, is all. I didn't know Konoha had any Hoji-sha."

"They don't." the pinkette snapped, appearing offended at that last remark. "I'm not bound to anyone." _And I don't plan on it ever happening._ She added mentally. Tazuna apologized awkwardly, and although she was still annoyed with the drunkard, she forgave him for his slight. After all, he didn't live in her village and wouldn't of known about what went on there, so she supposed that she could cut the man some slack.

"Hey! Can we get going now?" Naruto piped up, finally running out of patience, and all eyes turned to look at him. With his fists clasped around the straps of his backpack, he made quite a funny sight as he jogged in place. Sauske snorted, but the blonde was far too excited to start bickering with him over it as he usually would. "Let's get this thing started already!" Kakashi chuckled and ruffled his student's hair. As often as the kid frustrated him to no end and caused trouble sometimes, he was still an amusing ball of energy. He had only known Naruto and the other two for a few short weeks, but Kakashi was already quite fond of them. They were his pupils, yes, but they were also his comrades.

"Yes, Naruto. We can go." And at that, team seven and their charge set off, with Naruto dashing ahead, out into the world beyond the village and into the unknown that lay beyond, where unbeknownst to them, their lives were about to be changed forever.


	2. First Encounter

They had successfully completed their mission, but it had been more dangerous than any of them had ever expected. Tazuna had lied to them. To their Hokage. What was supposed to be a C-Ranked mission had actually turned into an A-Ranked. The Land of Waves was being crushed within the iron grip of drug under lord Gato, who had hired ninja to assassinate the bridge builder, for he was afraid of the completion of the bridge, which would free the small village from his grasp. Team seven was not ready to face such an opponent. Despite this, they prevailed in the end, but it had been a close one. Sakura was glad to be home. However, she couldn't stop thinking about the two ninja they had faced. Haku had been just like her.

_"Do not speak to me as if you know me. You know nothing of being a true tamashi and you know nothing of Zabuza." The masked boy's words were as cold as his ice mirrors. When Naruto had seen the plume of feathers trailing out from beneath his kimono, he'd demanded to know why Haku would choose to work for Zabuza. Why, when he could do so much better and be so much more? Of course, that icy answer was what Naruto received in reply, and it was after that when Sakura and the rest of team seven learned that the possibility of there being more tamashi was not the only thing that was very real. There were still Hoji-sha in existence. And they had the potential to be even more powerful than the strongest of Kages. "Now...let me show you the power of a Reikon!" Haku had proclaimed, and suddenly, he was no longer a boy, but a magnificent gyrfalcon. Larger than any Kakashi had ever seen, snow white, with beautiful, deep blue markings. He was just as fast as when he had been in human form - perhaps even faster, and with his strong wings, he could whip up an icy whirlwind of senbon that could knock them off of their feet. It had taken everything the team had in them to defeat Haku and Zabuza. Before he died, the mist ninja felt the need to tell them one last thing._

_"I am strong," he told them. "But there are stronger. Compare a fly and house cat and I think you'll get the picture. There are Hoji-sha out there with tamashi that have the power to rival the nine great tailed beasts." the swordsman chuckled darkly, but it was weak. If he was trying to sound ominous, he wasn't doing a very good job of it. Still, he had continued, "You may have won against me, but you won't always be so lucky."_

What did he mean by that? And what had Haku meant by 'Reikon'? Sakura couldn't come up with any answers. Perhaps he had just assumed that their team would eventually encounter a stronger Hoji-sha and wind up getting killed. She supposed it was _possible_ that they would eventually run into another tamashi or even a Hoji-sha. As for the rest, it was likely wishful thinking on Zabuza's part. Trekking through the village streets - she was doing some shopping for her parents, Sakura caught a flash of pale, yellow hair, then realized that she was passing the Yamanaka flower shop. She paused. "Hmm, I wonder if they might know something..." she thought out loud, turning to look into the store window. She could see Ino helping her mom with a new shipment of flowers. The Yamanaka clan were supposedly the descendants of a clan of Hoji-sha here in Konoha. Maybe they had something useful on record. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to learn a little more about herself. If they even had anything on tamashi. It was funny how she hadn't thought about such a thing until now. She supposed it was the fact that she had grown up around humans and had such a comfortable life, despite the occasional wary glance or teasing from other children. The village treated her family well. Of course, her father's lucrative merchant business likely had something to do with that. Abandoning her shopping mission for the time being, the pink-haired girl stepped into the Yamanaka flower shop. "Hey, Ino-pig! I need to talk to your mom!"

* * *

It had taken him half the damn morning to shake Naruto off of his trail. Why couldn't the idiot just leave him alone? Persistent brat. Hands stuffed in his pockets and a sour look twisting his features, Sasuke trudged down the street, hoping that the blonde had found something else to amuse himself with. "Oi, Sasuke! You can't hide from me!" Naruto's shrill voice made him cringe. Dammit. And he had just lost him a little while ago, too! Rather than endure his teammate's ideas of fun - seriously, what kind of ninja _plays_ ninja? -, the Uchiha ducked into the brightly painted shop to his left. A flower shop. Naruto would never think to look for him here. Moving quickly, he immersed himself into one of the back rows of flowers and pretended to be just another customer. As he'd assumed, the orange clad ninja dashed by without even giving the shop a second glance. Sasuke was just about to let out a relieved sigh when another, just as familiar voice made him want to groan aloud.

"Hey, Ino-pig!" It was Sakura. Hell, if she caught him in here, he would never hear the end of it. He could already hear her teasing him about being inside of the flower shop, probably asking if he was buying flowers for someone and who they were for. He began slowly creeping toward the door while she stood at the counter up front. If he could just slip by while she wasn't looking. "Ino! Come out! I need to talk to your mom!" The Uchiha paused. His first thought was the realization that this was the _Yamanaka_ flower shop. Then, he wondered what Sakura would need to talk about with the matriarch of one of the clans. Curious now, the Uchiha attempted to listen in, but the women had gathered in the back room and he couldn't make out any of their words. Moments later, his pink-haired teammate reemerged from the room and jogged toward the shop's door. "Thanks! I'll go talk to him right away!" she called, then disappeared out into the street. He didn't like the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Normally, he wouldn't care. His teammates weren't family. There was no need for him to babysit either one of them or care about their personal lives, but the Yamanaka's were a prominent clan and Sasuke couldn't help but feel that Sakura shouldn't be getting mixed up with them. Although for the life of him, he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason why he felt that way. Before Ino could notice him, which he really, really didn't want, he slipped out the door to follow his teammate.

* * *

On the way to the Yamanaka home, Sakura could have sworn she sensed a familiar chakra following her, but when she paused to check, it was gone. That was weird. Maybe she was just imagining things. She sniffed and continued on her way. _Or maybe not_. The Yamanaka compound was large, but it wasn't as imposing as some of the other clan estates. Still, it looked like it could be easy to get lost if you didn't know where you were going. Ino's mother had told Sakura that her husband should be training outside on the estate grounds, as that was what he and some of the other clan members were doing when she left that morning, but it was almost noon, so it was possible that they had already finished. That was good. Sakura didn't want to interrupt their training. Finding the front door, she knocked. It didn't take long for someone to answer. She assumed that there would be a lot of questions and maybe even some suspicion, but the Yamanaka who answered the door smiled and invited her in. "You must be Sakura-chan! It's so nice to finally meet you!" the girl was maybe a year or two younger than Sakura. She had blue eyes like Ino did and her hair was a pretty shade of chestnut. "I'm Momo! Nee-chan has talked about you a lot!"

"Nee-chan?" the pinkette wondered, momentarily confused. "Wait...you mean, Ino? I didn't know that she had a sister." As far as she knew, Ino was an only child. She had never mentioned any siblings before. Momo grinned and seemed to literally bounce on her feet. This kid must have a lot of energy. More than Naruto, if that were even possible.

"Oh, Nee-chan is actually my cousin, but she's really just like an older sister to me!"

"Oh, I see. That's nice." Sakura smiled. And it was. Even though her friend was an only child, it was good to see that she had others in her clan that she could be close to. Lately, she and Ino's friendship had become strained. They both liked Sasuke, but the blonde girl had become a little obsessed over the matter and the two of them had ended up having a big fight.

"Momo? What's all the noise?" The man she had come to speak with came out into the front hall, clearly surprised to see that there was a guest in his doorway and Sakura had to pull herself from her thoughts. "A friend of yours?"

"Ah, this is Sakura-chan! She's Nee-chan's friend, but I wish that we can be friends, too."

Sakura bowed politely and said, "Hello, Yamanka-sama. I asked your wife if it was alright that I stopped by. She said that it was, so I hope I'm not intruding. I was hoping your clan might have some documents on something I want to look into." Then, to Momo, she smiled. "Of course we can be friends!"

Momo broke out into the biggest grin that Sakura had ever seen and began cheering so loudly, Inoichi felt the need to dismiss the excited girl to another room. "I apologize. She can be quite the handful." the man began, but Sakura only chuckled and waved his concern away.

"It's alright. I have a teammate who is much like her. She's adorable."

Inoichi's lips pulled up into a faint smile. "As for the matter you're here for, I have a good guess, tamashi. I can't garuntee that we have all the information you seek, but there are some books and scrolls I could allow you to look at. However, they cannot leave this estate." he told her.

"I understand. I don't intend to take long."

"Take as much time as you need. Follow me."

The head of the clan turned, and Sakura took a step to follow, but then remembered something. "Ah, Yamanaka-sama, I forgot to mention that I have a shadow." she said with a small frown. Damn Uchiha. What did he think he was doing following her? Inoichi raised a brow at this, but didn't appear displeased. She glanced up at the ceiling. "Sasuke, get down here. Hiding your chakra can't hide you from my nose." Sure enough, the raven head appeared a moment later beside her, from where he had most certainly been perched somewhere on the roof, hands in his pockets and slouch in his posture. He stared at her, seemingly miffed that she had caught on to him so easily. Sakura figured this was as close to a pout as the guy would ever get and she had to admit that it was pretty cute.

Had she not been here on buisness, she would most likely have hearts in her eyes right about now.

"Does this friend of yours plan on joining you?" Inoichi questioned, bringing her out of her thoughts once again. The pinkette glanced at her teammate. Sasuke was obviously uncomfortable with the fact that he'd been caught following her, even more so that the head of the Yamanaka clan was present to witness his folly. She could have been a little nicer to him and called him out before reaching the compound.

The wolf in her grinned. "I suppose stalking me means he was planning on it." she ignored the dark look her teammate sent her. No doubt he'd get her back for that later, but she was more focused on the matter at hand and didn't have time to worry about that right now.

"Very well." The pair followed the Yamanaka clan head into a moderately sized library, packed from floor to ceiling with shelves of books and scrolls. Instead of standing at the door in amazement like she wanted to, Sakura thanked him and made a beeline for the nearest shelf to begin browsing. Inoichi quietly slipped away, leaving the two of them alone, and Sasuke took a seat at the small table in the corner to mope. She almost giggled at the sight, but kept her attention on the rows of books in front of her.

Two shelves and many rows later, Sasuke finally asked, "So what is it that you're looking for exactly?" and Sakura inwardly grinned. If he was going to sit there and ask questions, the least he could do was help her. 

"Anything about the tamashi. Specifically the connection between tamashi and Hoji-sha. Get up and help me, will you? A second set of eyes will make this faster." she spoke without looking at him, and Sasuke, to her surprise, actually did join her in the search. She wasn't sure if it was because he was also curious or if it was because his teammate had found something productive to do with her time and he felt like being generous. Either way, she really was glad for his assitance. It would cut the search time in half. After what felt like hours later, it was Sasuke who found something of interest first.

"What about stuff on Reikon?" he muttered offhandedly, seemingly trying to be casual as he pulled a scroll down from one of the higher shelves she couldn't reach. Catching the heavy tome she almost dropped, Sakura turned to stare at him as he held the scroll of rolled leather up for her to see. "That's what this one is labeled."

Raising both eyebrows with an incredulous expression, Sakura remarked, "So you do remember what he said." He shot her an annoyed, flat look.

"I do pay attention, you know. I'm not like Naruto." he took the tome from her before she could protest and brought it and the scroll to the table that he had occupied just moments before, dropping into a seat and watching her expectantly. She joined him.

"Are you suggesting I spend too much time with him?" she asked. When he didn't reply, she huffed and reached for the scroll. It was weathered and cracked, the leather cool and dry beneath her fingers as she unrolled it in order to spread it out on the table. "Weird that it isn't made of paper."

"That just says how old it is. It must have been made before rice paper was invented." Sasuke frowned in thought, leaning forward so that he could see what was on the scroll. How did the Yamanaka clan get their hands on something like this? The Uchiha and the Hyuuga clan were both much older than theirs. If anyone should have something so ancient, it should be one of them. Not the Yamanaka.

As if reading his mind, Sakura said, "Well, considering that the Yamanaka's are the descendants of a family of Hoji-sha, I'm not really all that surprised." That explained it. Still, that didn't mean he had to like it. Again, Sasuke had that irritating feeling of displeasure. And again, he couldn't figure out why he didn't like the fact that the Yamanka's had a scroll such as this. Sakura paid no attention to his darkening mood and began to read, "A Reikon is a tamashi that has forged an everlasting bond with their Hoji-sha and reached his or her full potential. Together, with this power, both the Reikon and the Hoji-sha may rival the Biju. This accomplishment, while rare, may be achieved by anyone with the will to work toward this goal, and any who have the perseverance to reach such heights are to be praised and revered for their astounding fortitude." The silence that followed was so thick, Sakura swore she could have cut through it with a kunai. She needed to know more. Why hadn't her parents ever mentioned anything like this? Why hadn't they ever breathed a word about the history of their kind?

"Do you think there are ninja like that out there? Right now?" Sasuke questioned, gaze locked on the inked words that had been soaked into the leather scroll so many years in the past. It was a very good question and something to think about. Especially now that they had encountered Haku and his Hoji-sha. However, if the answer to that question was yes, then why wasn't something like this common knowledge?

Sakura sat back in her seat and rubbed at her eyes with one hand, replying, "I don't know, but now that we're taking missions outside of the village, I guess we'll find out. Won't we?"


	3. Mother Knows Best

Being the youngest and only member left of his clan, Sasuke had never bothered to go through the family archives before. The vast, maze-like library of information was so large, he wasn't exactly sure where to begin when he stepped into the room. Fortunately, the majority of the Uchiha clan members had been meticulous perfectionists by nature, and everything had been carefully labeled and organized in alphabetical order. It still was. Since the destruction of the Uchiha clan, nothing in the compound had been touched.

Sasuke didn't bother to put away any of the books left out on the dusty tables as he passed, stopping in front of the section of shelves that he was searching for. He didn't know why he was even bothering to look. The Yamanaka clan were the ones who were supposedly the descendants of Hoji-sha. Not the Uchiha, as far as he was aware. If by some miracle, his family had left behind any information on either tamashi or Hoji-sha, he figured it would likely be only the basics. He spent nearly the entire day scouring the Uchiha library, and was pleasantly surprised to find more than he had counted on. There was nothing as important as documentation on Reikon, but there was quite a bit on Hoji-sha, chakra sharing and bonds, and even some guides on several races of tamashi. Did this mean that his clan might of actually been descendants of Hoji-sha? Could that explain his irritation at knowing that the Yamanaka had such an important scroll in their possession? Did some part of him unconsciously covet such information? Given that the only other current living member of the Uchiha was a traitorous criminal, Sasuke doubted that he would ever find the answers to his questions. Unless Itachi would be willing to talk. And like hell he would ask that son of a bitch anything.

Although he was loath to admit it, Sasuke knew that he c _ould_ simply be jealous that the Yamanaka had the scroll.

Without anyone left to tell him that he couldn't, Sasuke took the books he had found along with him as he left the compound to return to his home. He figured that Sakura would want to read these.

* * *

 "Thank you so very much, Yamanaka-sama." Sakura thanked Inoichi once again for allowing her to use their library. Since she was unable to take the tome with her the other day, and since she and Sasuke had only gotten through about a quarter of the book - if that, she had returned in hopes to continue reading. The Yamanaka head was kind enough to let her back in and, after an entire day of dividing her time between reading and entertaining Momo, Sakura left feeling a little on the confused side. On one hand, what she had read gave her quite a lot of insight into the world of Hoji-sha long ago, but she was also left with some questions that neither the book nor even Inoichi could provide the answers to. Sakura wanted to ask her parents, but whenever she had tried to ask them anything about their species in the past, they would wave away her curiosity and tell her that she didn't need to know. That it didn't matter anymore.

However, her curiosity was stronger than the fear of her mother's wrath. With her father away from the village on a trade route, Sakura took the opportunity to question her mother while they were busy preparing dinner that evening. "Hey, mom? How did our clan end up living here?" The sound of vegetables being diced paused.

Her mother cast her a sideways glance before returning to her cutting and replied, "You've asked me this before and I always tell you the same thing, honey. It doesn't matter."

"But _why_ doesn't it matter? I'm curious. And I think I have a right to know these things if I ask!" Sakura insisted, stirring the contents of the pot on the stove in front of her a tad too forcefully, causing the foaming water to spill over the side.

"Sakura!" Mebuki admonished, both for her mistake and statement as she set the knife and cutting board aside to take over at the stove. Sakura frowned and handed over the spoon.

"Well what about Reikon? Do you know anything about them?"

This time, it was Mebuki who made a mess, almost knocking over the entire pot as she snapped her gaze around to look at her daughter. "What? Where did you hear about something like that?" the older woman demanded. Sakura blinked, puzzled at her mother's reaction.

"Uhm...during my last mission. We ran into another tamashi who called himself that." she answered slowly, hesitant. Perhaps she shouldn't tell her mother that she had seen the guy transform. It would probably be better not to mention the scroll from the Yamanaka, either.

"I see." her mother said after a moment of thought. "It's best if you don't worry about such things, Sakura." Having had enough of hearing the exact same thing every time she asked about something related to tamashi, the pink-haired girl smacked her hand down on the counter with a growl.

"You never tell me anything about tamashi! We're not human, mom, so stop pretending that we are!" she exclaimed.

Mebuki shut the stove off and crossed her arms. "That is quite enough, Sakura! Who do you think you are to speak to me that way?" the woman raised a brow at her daughter, speaking in a low, calm tone that made Sakura start to regret ever bringing the topic up in the first place. "Be happy with what you have and stop trying to dig up the past. Don't be ungrateful."

"I'm not being ungrateful! I just want to know! I'm not a child anymore, so there's no reason _not_ tell me!" Sakura growled, baring her teeth.

"Oh-ho, don't you flash your fangs at me, young lady!"

"Then stop treating me like a pup!"

"Stop acting like a pup and I won't have to treat you like one. As long as you live under my roof, you will follow my rules."

"This doesn't have anything to do with rules!" Sakura knew that it actually did. Her mother was telling her that if she said she didn't want to talk about something, then to leave it be. Before, she wouldn't have dared to bare her fangs at her own mother, but this was getting ridiculous! It wasn't like she was asking anything personal. She just wanted to know a little bit more about her own race. Was that too much to ask for? The two females stared at each other for several more seconds, until a knock at the door interuppted them.

Mebuki glanced at Sakura before moving to go open the door, saying "You're not off the hook, Sakura, so don't think you're not going to be grounded." When the door swung open, Sasuke stood there, appearing mildly uncomfortable. No doubt he could feel the tension rolling through the air.

"Did I come at a bad time?" the Uchiha asked.

To say Sakura was startled would be an understatement. She never would have expected to see Sasuke, of all people, standing in her doorway with books tucked under one arm. "I assume you're a classmate of Sakura's?" her mother questioned with a sniff, hands on her hips as she leaned forward to peer at the boy with a scrutinizing eye.

Sasuke resisted the urge to lean away from her and said, "Ah. Teammate, actually."

"No wonder. My daughter comes home smelling like you and the rest of her team, but she's never introduced me to any of you before." Mebuki said with a dramatic sigh of dismay, her attitude doing a complete one-eighty now that company had arrived. "She never tells her dear old mother anything!"

"Mom!" Sakura practically whined, feeling her face heat up. How embarrassing! The first time Sasuke ever visits her house and this is how her mother behaves! Shoving past her, Sakura grabbed his wrist to pull him away.

"Hey! Get back here! You're still grounded!" Mebuki shouted.

"You can ground me longer when I come home!" Consequences be damned, there was no way in hell she was going to let her mother use this opportunity to humiliate her for their argument. Unlike her father, who would make her spend hours going over basic cub lessons as punishment, Mebuki was more creative and crafty. Sakura was certain that her mother would pick on her mercilessly in front of Sasuke and say all kinds of embarrassing things.

Sasuke allowed Sakura to drag him along behind her for a total of twenty-three seconds, just long enough for the two of them to round a corner, before pulling his arm away and slowing to a walk, then stopping altogether. She turned around to look at him, and he held out the two books for her to take. "Here."

"Wow, you're being so helpful." she smiled when she saw the book titles. "Thanks, Sasuke-kun!" It was rather unusual for him, but she wasn't going to turn this down. Not only was he being nice to her, but he was helping her with information about her species. He grunted in reply. Normally, his lack of response would have made her feel slightly discouraged, but she was starting to get used to his apparent inability to communicate. Flipping through the first book about chakra sharing, she asked, "Where in the world did you find these?"

"The Uchiha compound. Couldn't find anything else on Reikon, though." was his simple reply. She glanced up from the pages at that.

"Really? Why would your clan have something like this? Were they Hoji-sha descendants, too?" He shrugged, and she decided to drop the subject in favor of realizing that her stomach was growling. Even though she didn't want to go home just yet and face her mother, she knew she would have to go home _sometime_. Staying away was only prolonging the inevitable. "I should head back now. I'm starving. Thanks again!" she turned to leave, but he spoke again.

"We could go to Ichiraku's. I bet Naruto is already there." Inner Sakura squealed, even if on the outside, she was just standing there, staring at him in shock. He frowned. "What?"

Shaking her head, she muttered, "You've just never asked me or Naruto to go anywhere with you before." He didn't reply at first, and the two of them walked in silence down the emptying street.

"Yeah, well. You guys are my teammates."

That was the only explanation the Uchiha offered, but it was enough for Sakura. Once they reached Ichiraku, they discovered that Naruto was indeed already sitting at the booth, inhaling what looked to be his fourth bowl of ramen. "Oh, hey Sasuke-teme! Sakura-chan!" he beamed and waved, excited to see his friends join him.

"Naruto, how much do you plan on eating?" Sakura scrunched up her nose, appalled, and took a seat next to him. How could he eat that much and not get sick? Sasuke sat on her other side, ignoring them as he usually did while ordering his food.

"I dunno!" Naruto laughed. "I just eat until I'm full!"

"You're going to get fat that way. A ninja needs to be fit."

"No way! With all the missions we'll be doing, I don't have to worry about a thing! Man, you girls are weird. Always worried about your weight." he didn't see Sakura's annoyed look or the way she clenched her fist. "Is that why you worry? Because you gain weight faster than bo- ow! Sakuraaaaa-chaaaan!"

"Thinking isn't your thing, Naruto." she told him flatly.

He continued to whine, "Whaaaaat? What did I say?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, ordered her own bowl of ramen and spent the rest of the evening enjoying the company of her team. At least, she enjoyed it when Naruto kept his mouth shut and didn't say idiotic things. Sasuke, for the most part was quiet, as expected, but he did join in on the conversation once or twice. It was more than before, which was a sign that they all were becoming closer as friends. When she went home, Sakura was sure that she would be in a heap load of trouble, but she figured that she could worry about that later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like this so far! To be honest, I only have a vague idea of where this is going, so if anyone has any plot ideas or twists, feel free to shoot 'em at me! I am also in need of a beta reader, since two sets of eyes are better than one and I have a bad habit of not thoroughly going over my work, aha... ^^"


	4. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! After months of procrastination, I give you the next chapter! This one was difficult for me to write, as it is supposed to be a sort of informational filler leading into the next chapter and I still don't have this plot 100% sorted out. I like to create as I go, so sometimes it takes me awhile to find what works. Anyway, please let me know how I did and if there are any spelling errors, as usual! Constructive criticism is always welcome!

The team was headed back to the village after a mission when Sakura commented offhandedly to Sasuke, "We could be opposites." He glanced at her, confusion knitting his brows together, so she elaborated. "Our chakra affinities. They could be completely opposite from each other. Your clan is known for their affinity to fire."

"So?" She should be used to his one-word replies and questions by now, but it still ticked her off sometimes. Couldn't he be just a bit more talkative? She was trying to have a conversation here! He had been the one to bring her those books, after all. Wasn't he even the tiniest bit interested in what was written in them? And although she would never admit it, she was secretly wondering if their chakra natures might be compatible.

"As far as I know, my family doesn't have anyone with the affinity for fire."

"Ah." and that was it. Her attempt at conversation died and Sakura found herself grumbling. Maybe his conversational spree at Ichiraku's had been a fluke. "Fire works with wind." Sakura could only blink at him for a moment, before slowly nodding her head in agreement.

"Yes, it does." she said. "My father has an affinity for wind." He canted his head to the side to glance at her.

"Do you know yours?"

"No. Not yet."

Before either of them could continue their conversation, Naruto piped up from behind them. "Hey, what are you guys talking about? Know what?" The rest of the way home was spent trying to explain chakra natures and their compatibilities with each other to the blonde. He was having trouble grasping the concept and Sakura couldn't stop sighing.

"Pay attention! I'll explain it one more time." she frowned, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at the blonde. "After that, will you promise to _stop whining?_ You're fourteen, for crying out loud!" Naruto nodded excitedly and seemed to attempt a focused expression, which only made him look constipated. Sasuke snorted from her other side. Despite the feeling that her teammate wasn't actually going to remember all of this, Sakura explained, "Okay, Naruto. There are four base chakra natures. Earth, water, fire and wind. And two spiritual natures. Yin and yang. These two are different, because they aren't elemental based. Got it so far?" when he nodded again, she went on. "Good. All chakra natures have natures they are compatible with and natures they aren't compatible with. This is important between a Hoji-sha and a tamashi."

"Why?" Naruto appeared perplexed.

"If their chakra natures aren't compatible, then they could work against each other or even not at all."

"So you're saying charka that doesn't get along is bad."

Glancing at Sasuke incredulously, Sakura hedged, "I guess...that's one way to put it." Her raven-haired teammate merely shrugged. Naruto was an idiot in his opinion. Such wonderful help, he was.

"So, which elements get along, then? And which ones don't?" Naruto wondered.

"You should already know that from our time at the academy!" Sakura snapped.

"Yes, Naruto. That is something they teach in the academy. Did you ever really listen to Iruka? The poor man. He cares about you so much and yet you can't even remember his important lessons." Kakashi spoke up without taking his eyes off of his Icha Icha book. He had been walking ahead of them, but apparently, he'd been listening in on them the entire time. Sakura made a mental note to be aware that her teacher was nosey. There were just some things she wouldn't want him to overhear. Naruto flailed his arms and insisted that he would do better for Iruka-sensei, tears comically running down his face. Behind his mask, Kakashi smirked.

Sakura huffed and said, "Ugh, fine. Listen. Fire and water are not compatible. Neither are wind and earth. Earth and water work together, as does fire and wind. Remember it this time! I won't explain it to you again!"

"Geeze, okay!" the blonde held up both hands in surrender. "But...what about the other two?"

"Yin and yang? They work with any chakra nature, since they're spiritual and not elemental." Hopefully, Naruto would be able to retrain some of the information, because Sakura was sure as hell not having this frustrating conversation ever again.

* * *

 

Later that night, Sakura caught a lucky break. Her mother was out grocery shopping, leaving her father home for the rosette to broach topics with that were otherwise banned inside the house. She approached him as nonchalantly as she could, hands clasped behind her back. "Sooooo, daddy." she began hopefully, making sure to keep her voice as sweet and as pleading as possible. Her father, who was currently reading over a list of recent business transactions, glanced up from his work to raise both eyebrows at his daughter. He wasn't giving her a disapproving stare yet, so she continued. "I have a question about something mom doesn't like to talk about and since she isn't here, I figured it would be the perfect time to ask you." Kizashi slowly set his paperwork down on the coffee table in front of him and shifted to better face his daughter, who was beginning to feel a little apprehensive at his silence.

"Honey," he sighed. "You know how your mother feels about certain things. If it's something she wouldn't want to talk about, then I don't think-"

She whined, interrupting him, "But _daddy_! I'm old enough now to have some questions answered. This is my village, too and mom just won't tell me anything!" she hadn't meant to sound so petulant, but who else was going to answer her questions? Even the books that Sasuke had lent her couldn't help with _everything_.

Kizashi's greying ears twitched, his gaze flickering toward the front door before returning to his daughter. Looking at Sakura now, with such an observant and keen expression, jade eyes more knowing than the civilian children her age, he knew that she was growing up right under his nose and he hadn't even taken the time to stop and look. To realize that the path their baby girl had chosen had already made her stronger and wiser than she might of been, had she decided to grow up like the rest of the neighborhood's children. Mebuki might not want to admit it, but Sakura was old enough to ask her questions and have them answered truthfully.

"Alright," he said with another sigh and held up a finger while giving his daughter a firm look. "One question. So pick carefully."

Sakura didn't even hesitate when she asked, "Why is the entire village so accepting of us when you and mom always told me that humans and tamishi don't exactly get along? How did we even end up living here if we don't have any Hoji-sha?"

Well then. Maybe not every question needed to be answered truthfully.

"First of all, that was not one question, young lady." her father tried to sound stern, but with the way Sakura was grinning like a little imp only made him chuckle and continue."Honey, Konoha is..." he paused, searching for the right words to use. "Well, it's different here than in other villages. It is true that there are many, many villages and people who fear and don't understand tamashi, but our family came here in the early days of this village's beginning. We have always been apart of it."

"But-"

Kizashi lifted one hand to stop her and shook his head, saying, "You asked your question. Questions." There was that grin again. "I answered. Now, your mother will be home soon. Let's get dinner started for her, yes?" He rose from his seat and Sakura visibly deflated, ears drooping in disappointment. She had hoped to get more than that out of her father, but it seemed that even he was going to continue keeping secrets.

"Fine." Following her father into the kitchen, Sakura decided that she was just going to have to learn everything she could on her own. Perhaps Zabuza had been right and her team would encounter more tamashi and maybe even Hoji-sha. Even if as enemies, it would be a learning experience and Sakura could only hope.

* * *

"Okay, so the first Hoji-sha was from the Hyuuga clan? That's amazing!" Sasuke only grunted at his pink-haired teammate's excitement. Sure. Amazing. _Not_. Stupid, white-eyed freaks. Sakura didn't seem to notice his disgruntled state. Either that or she decided not to, and continued reading from the thick tome between them. The two of them had once again gone to pay a visit to Inoichi and were currently attempting to finish off the last half of the giant book they had found previously. "It was the Hyuuga and your clan who founded the village, but I don't see any mention of the Uchiha being Hoji-sha." she muttered, half to herself as her emerald eyes flickered over the pages.

Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, appearing uninterested. "I guess it's possible they just didn't mention my clan." he lifted one shoulder in a shrug, trying to ignore the smirk that Sakura sent him from across the table.

"Awh, are you jealous of the Hyuuga?" she teased. He narrowed his eyes and she returned to scanning the pages of the book. "Relax, I'm only playing. You don't have to stay if you don't want to." Sasuke merely blinked at that. She was getting better at reading him, he realized. When he didn't say anything or move, she glanced up with a puzzled expression. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn." he shifted a bit in his seat, turning his head in order to gaze out of the nearby window. "It's fine. I'll stick around in case you need some help."

"You say that as if I'm going to need it." her reply was quick, tone accusatory, and he was unable to stop the corners of his lips from lifting. He immediately turned the would-be smile into a smug smirk and heard Sakura huff before returning to her search for information. In the following silence, he turned to his own thoughts. Both of his teammates were starting to grow on him. A part of him was worried. His life goal was one thing and one thing only; revenge. Could he really succeed while falling into this contentment? There were moments when his goal became blurred and he didn't appreciate it. For now, there wasn't much that he could do about it except to remind himself that he still had something to accomplish. And that it did not involve his team.


End file.
